


It's the end of the world as we know it...

by awkwardkermitfrog



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Gen, Major character death - Freeform, Murder, Other, Overdose, Sexual Assault, mature content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 06:39:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11458095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardkermitfrog/pseuds/awkwardkermitfrog
Summary: A meteorite is coming quickly to earth. How will Rhett and Link fair in the wake of a global disaster?





	It's the end of the world as we know it...

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt was given to me by @mythosethan. Ethan decided to trust me with his idea after I wrote the brief but very disturbed fic, The Last Rhett and Link Video, which you can read on AO3. Not to name any spoilers, but this fic is meant to be unsettling, and includes death. In this universe, Rhett and Link are not married, either to each other or to their wives, but are still best friends.

_**June 15th, 2025.** _

“Get up, Link.”

Link groaned as Rhett shook his arm gently. His eyes, full of sleep, stared into the wall of the shed, unable to focus on the woodwork without his glasses. He buried his face further into the stiff pillow and loudly moaned in protest. “...’nother... minute.” 

“Link, it’s been a minute.” Rhett shook his arm gently again. With each shake, Link let out another groan. “Come on buddy. Get up. Up up up.” Rhett shook him a little harder, grinning, teasing him. He stopped shaking him before stepping back, and sighed loudly. “I found some peanut butter last night, you know... I’m going to eat it if you don’t get up.”

Link rolled over, squinting as sunlight from the window streamed onto his face. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would. Unless you get up. Then you can eat it.” Rhett shrugged, stepping backward, looking bemused. 

Link sat up and slowly threw his legs over the side of the cot. “What day is it?” 

“Of the month? It’s...” Rhett walked over to a calendar he had tacked on the wall a few weeks ago. “It looks like it’s the fifteenth.”

“No, like, what day is it in the countdown?” Link’s face had become serious. He reached onto the floor and picked up his glasses, which were held together on one side with thick layers of scotch tape. He looked up at Rhett, who was looking down at his feet, visibly uncomfortable.

“Well... I think it’s day eight.” He rocked back onto the soles of his feet, searching for the right words to say. “It’s only ever been an estimate, though.”

“You mean we have eight days, or we’ve been counting for eight days?” Link asked carefully. The subject was something neither one of them was comfortable discussing, but he felt the need to talk about it, to know it was real.  _World wide disaster coming_ , the news had said. _Global catastrophe. Trans-generational threat level._  He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his already sweaty nose and stared into the floor, contemplative.

“The thirty day mark started...” Rhett flipped through the calendar to the date he’d circled in pen. “That started on the seventeenth of May.” He pretended that Link didn’t already know the answers the questions he asked each morning because he knew that clinging to the dates on the calendar were one of the few things that brought him comfort. “Eight days left. That’s what they predict.” 

Link nodded solemnly and continued to stare at the floor. “Eight days.” He stood up and stretched his long body. “We should make something to go with that peanut butter.”

Rhett gave a slight nod and looked at his friend. Neither had showered in days and since L.A. had become unsafe, they’d been staying in a shed rather than either of their houses, in order to be less conspicuous. It showed in the dirt on Link’s clothes and in the sweat that caused Rhett’s shirt to cling to his back. Both their cots were crammed into corners with a blanket for each man. The heat of the summer had come and replaced the cool of the night, as it always did, and Rhett wondered to himself why either were bothering to sleep with shirts on, instead of using the night air to cool off. 

Link walked across the shed and reached for a small radio which had been, up to three days ago, broadcasting regularly. Now it occasionally picked up a distress signal and rarely something from the news or authorities. Most had, by this point, gone away from their work to be with their families. “Maybe we’ll get lucky today?” He mused, switching the device on and thumbing through the different A.M. frequencies. 

Rhett shrugged. “Dude, you know no one’s broadcasting at this point.” As he said this, a voice cut through static. Link turned to Rhett and laughed. 

The voice on the radio was clouded by static, so only a few words came through. On the other end, a man said, “Eight days ... for humanity. No.. hope... churches... overrun... send help... send help...” The man sounded extremely distressed, which caused Link’s grin to fall from his face. “Please, there are children here - no - “ The voice began to scream as if the speaker were being attacked. A shiver ran up Link’s spine. He turned the radio off and stepped away from it as if he’d touched something rotten, something that left an unpleasant residue on his fingers. 

“Hey, let’s eat some of that peanut butter, huh?” Rhett patted Link on the back, smiling. “Let’s do something fun.”

“Yeah.” Link swallowed, took a deep breath, and looked up at Rhett. “Yeah, peanut butter sounds really good.”

* * *

_Rhett had been at the studio when the news reached him. He remembered that he had been trying to come up with a song idea; they hadn’t written a song in a few years at that point. There was talk of retirement, as both men had enough money to support themselves for years to come, but love of the industry kept them going. Rhett rubbed his forehead as a headache came over him and looked down to see his phone was vibrating, the photo of Link’s face mushed against glass making it look like he was trapped inside the screen. He slid the green call button over to answer. “Hello?”_

_“Rhett, have you seen the news?” Link’s voice was worried, distraught even. “If you aren’t watching it, you need to, right now.”  
_

_“What’s going on?” Rhett found himself sitting upright at hearing the distress in his best friend’s voice. “Can’t you just tell me?”  
_

_“I could, but...” There was a pause as Link fumbled with what to do, what to say, that could do justice to what he was hearing on his television set. “I think it’s better that you just see it yourself.”  
_

_Rhett stood up and walked down the hallway to the break room, where Stevie, Chase, and Alex were all sitting. They looked up and nodded to him when he came in, but didn’t say hello, turning instead intently to the television set._

_“Okay, I’m here, what channel?” Rhett asked quietly so as to not disturb the crew members.  
_

_“It’s on every channel.” Link’s voice broke. Rhett heard silence, indicating that Link had hung up the phone. He put it down, focusing now on what the blond woman on the television was saying._

_“...this is a cataclysmic disaster. That’s what they’re telling me now. That’s right, German scientists have detected a meteorite the size of the moon heading straight for our planet, which will result in mass extinction. We are currently waiting on confirmation from the American scientific community, but so far this finding has been backed up by the U.K., Russia, Japan, and France...”  
_

_Rhett shot forward, grabbing the remote. Stevie watched as he flipped through channel after channel. On every news station it was another message about the meteorite, another discussion panel, another warning. They all boiled down to the same thing: the human race was doomed._

_“It’s on every channel.” Chase said, looking up at Rhett as he stood in front of the television, his large frame blocking their view. “Even on channels that don’t broadcast news. You’re way over those, you’re on like, thirty seven. That’s...” he clicked his tongue. “Cartoon Network.” Chase was right. Even cartoon network was broadcasting a banner that read We are sorry for the inconvenience, but due to recent news, this channel will no longer be broadcasting your favorite shows.  
_

_Rhett set the remote down, strangely calm. He was calm because he had a mission in mind. He had to see Link._

_Rhett didn’t remember the drive to Link’s house, nor did he recall walking up to the door and knocking. He was on autopilot. There was no answer at first, so Rhett knocked again. He heard a shuffle of feet approaching the door and the creak of the hinge. Before Link could even greet him, Rhett had enveloped him in his arms and was holding him tightly. For several minutes, the two men just stood there, breathing into one another, the television set playing in the background. Rhett looked over Link’s shoulder and watched as a man and a woman continued to talk about the coming meteorite. He squeezed Link harder when he heard the man say that it was predicted to be here in thirty days._

* * *

Rhett walked out of the shed now with Link, thinking about how fast everything had gone to hell. For about the first week, all anyone could talk about was the impending disaster. Many people stopped coming to work. Entire industries shut down overnight. Rhett couldn’t blame the crew when they approached Rhett and Link and said that they wanted to be with their families. Alone, Rhett and Link had filmed one final episode of Good Mythical Morning; a goodbye to their legacy. The next day, the internet stopped working. Then looting became widespread, though Rhett couldn’t help but wonder what the point of stealing was, especially in a world without electricity to watch the thieves’ big televisions on.

 As soon as the president had confirmed that the disaster was, in fact, really happening, crime ran rampant. There was no longer any order, no longer any reason to maintain order. The military was deployed at first to try and maintain order, but this was quickly dismissed, as it was seen as ultimately pointless. Rhett had decided they needed to find a hide out when Link had ran to his house and pounded on the door telling him he had been robbed at gunpoint and nearly murdered. After that, about thirty miles outside the city, they had found an abandoned house with a shed. Not wanting to draw attention to themselves, and hoping no one would think to rob the shed, they opted to sleep there instead of in the house. During the day, they spent time in the house and, when it wasn’t too hot, searching for food. Whoever had owned it before everything had started hadn’t left with a lot of provisions, which led Rhett to think that they had probably been kidnapped, burgled, or killed. This belief was confirmed when one day Rhett stumbled across a doll in the yard whose hair was covered in dried blood. He had buried the doll, not wanting to upset Link, and had decided it was better left unsaid. Link may have had similar thoughts about the previous owners of the house, but if he did, he didn’t mention them. It seemed agreed upon, in some unspoken way, that it wasn’t a topic that needed to be discussed, so long as they stayed safe. It had been like this for fourteen days now, and food supplies were running low. When Rhett had found peanut butter in a bedroom the day before he nearly whooped with joy. Happy things were becoming very rare these days. 

Rhett climbed the stairs up to the back door and opened it gingerly. Link followed suit, both men stepping through into the kitchen as quietly as possible. The two men then went about inspecting the house for intruders, Rhett going left into the living room and dining room, and Link going right down a small hallway towards the bedrooms. At this point, there wasn’t much in the house to loot, as there was only an old fashioned television with a VCR, and again, no electricity, but the two were cautious anyway. 

“All clear!” Rhett said, walking back into the kitchen. “Link?”

“Yeah, yeah, all good.” Link walked back in, holding two T shirts. “Found these. I think they’ll fit us.”

“Link, we shouldn’t be stealing... well... never mind.” Rhett reached up into the cabinet where he had placed the peanut butter the night before. He didn’t want to elaborate on the doll he’d buried in the yard, nor did he want to wear the shirt of a dead man, but he felt he couldn’t crush Link’s spirit.

“Our clothes are gross. Com’n.” Link placed the shirts on the small table that was in the center of the kitchen and took off his shirt. He reached for one of the two shirts he’d set down, which bore the Captain America logo, and was considerably over-sized for a man so scrawny. 

“Ah, man, you stink!” Rhett laughed and made an over exaggerated gesture to brush away the smell of Link’s sweat and body odor. He then took off his own shirt and turned the knob on the sink. Nothing came out. “Guess water’s not running any more.” 

“Hmm... damn.” Link reached up to the cabinet to get some crackers. “We’ll have to go get some. There’s gotta be jugs somewhere, right? I think I saw a pharmacy down the road on our way here. Didn’t look too terribly messed up.” 

“Yeah, that might be a good idea. Is there gas in the truck?” 

“There is as long as nobody’s stole it yet.” Link dipped a cracker into the peanut butter and then into his mouth, slowly, savoring the flavor. “Remember when I said I get emotional comfort from eating peanut butter because I love it so much?”

Rhett laughed. “Yeah, that’s hard to forget. It was pretty funny.” He reached out and got a cracker, also dipping it in the peanut butter. “Wish these people had left the silverware.” He felt the cracker dry out his mouth at remembering, again, that the people who lived here weren’t the reason that the silverware was gone. 

Link looked up and noticed the distressed look on Rhett’s face and raised his eyebrows in concern. “You okay brother?” 

“Yeah, just... I should get to that pharmacy sooner than later.” He swallowed hard, his throat full of peanut butter, wishing there was something to drink. They should’ve waited to get the water before they ate anything that drew moisture away from the mouth. “I think you should stay here. Guard the place.” 

“And if you don’t come back?” Link looked up at Rhett, staring at him the way a younger brother stares at his older brother, as if he has all the answers in the world. 

“I’ll come back.” Rhett nodded assuredly, playing the part of the big brother. He nodded again. “I’ll come back.”

* * *

Rhett was about ten miles down the road before the thought occurred to him. His eyes widen with realization, his heart stopped beating for what felt like an entire minute. He stopped the truck, putting it into park and out of gear, staring out into the road, out into the desert, at a loss to his own thoughts. 

“I couldn’t.” He shouted at his reflection in the rear view mirror. “I wouldn’t.” He looked at his eyes, those eyes that were somewhere between green and hazel. He thought of how Link looked at him like he had all the answers, like he was some sort of God. It was Link who ought to be the one he looked up to, not the other way around. Link could get through things. Link could make tough decisions. Link was the last good thing in his life, the last thing worth fighting for. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. Eight days. He stared out into the wilderness, and then looked back at the rear view mirror, a tear streaming down his left cheek. 

“I won’t.” He said quietly. He wiped away the tear and gulped. “I won’t.”

As Rhett began to drive again, he knew that the opposite was true.

* * *

_**June 16th, 2025.** _

_**Estimation: Seven days remain.** _

Rhett and Link were sitting in the living room of the house on the floor, the darker haired man shuffling a deck of cards. Both had agreed that something felt wrong about the kitchen. It felt too personal. There weren’t many things in the living room, which led Link to believe that the people who had occupied the house didn’t spend much time there. Rhett still didn’t have the heart to tell him that there had been a robbery before they had arrived.

“Okay... one, one.. two, two... three, three.. four, four...” Link dealt the cards and counted one for Rhett and one for himself until he reached six. “Alright. What’s the game?”

“I’m thinking a good, old fashioned round of ‘Go-Fish’.” Rhett looked at the cards in his hand. “Hmm.. got any twos?”

“Go fish.” Link replied, examining his own hand. “Got any... got any fours?”

“Yep.” Rhett handed him two cards. Link took them happily, working his set of fours into his hand. “Got any seven’s?”

“Go fi-” Link was interrupted by a sudden thumping sound, like someone not knocking, but banging on the door. Both men jumped and set their cards down. They looked at each other, both waiting for the other to move towards the door, but remaining frozen. 

 _THUMP-THUMP-THUMP._  Three more not so much knocks as what sounded like attempts to break down the front door. Rhett stood up slowly, his eyes glued to the door, hands fumbling for something to use as a weapon. He picked up a large board that looked like it had been used once to hold something shut. “Just in case.” He whispered to Link, who was half standing, half crouching. Link nodded before yelling, “What do you want?”

“Please sir, there’s been an accident - my zheena, she’s pregnant - please, sir, please let us in, please help us.” The voice from outside the door pleaded. Rhett found himself wishing the door had a peep hole, something through which to see the person on the other side. He slowly, silently stepped towards to the door and began to reach for the handle. His left hand rested on it, his right hand holding the board. He looked at Link, then at the door, urging Link to say something.

“How do we know you’re not lying?” Link cupped his hands and shouted. 

“Please sir, i’m holding my zheena, she’s pregnant, please sir, please let us in. Please. We have water we can share with you - maybe you have some medicine? please, sir, she’s fading!” The man’s voice shifted from desperation to anger. He cried out. “Please sir, please let us in, we don’t know what’s out here!” 

Rhett sighed. He looked at Link, who nodded, though he looked uncomfortable. Rhett slowly turned the door knob and began to inch the door open. He didn’t get the chance, though, as the door was burst open and four young men came running in, laughing. Rhett tried to swing the board in his hand, but it was too wide for his hands and he slipped. He felt a sharp pain in his head, and another on his back, as one of the four threw him to the ground and promptly drove his knee into Rhett’s spine. Rhett cried out in pain. He tried to get up, but a second man moved his knee onto Rhett’s kneck, trapping him between the man’s body and the floor boards. He coughed and sputtered, unsure of how to fight back, but knowing he needed to. Stars danced in his eyes. He pushed his neck up and found himself slammed back to the ground, this time facing the rest of the room, watching two more men advanced towards Link. 

“Link!” Rhett screamed. He felt the man’s knee press harder into his neck, but this didn’t stop him from screaming again. “Link!”

“What the fuck, what the fuck-” Link was backing into the wall, fumbling for something to use as a weapon. As he backed up, he picked up random objects and threw them at the man closer to him - first the deck of cards, then a coaster, then a pillow. He was backed into the wall, and it was two against one. Rhett noticed that both of them were larger than Link, and taller as well. While he didn’t doubt that Link was muscular, his chances of getting out of a fight with two against one seemed slim. Rhett watched in horror, coughing, as Link raised his fists, his eyes wide with panic, but full of determination. 

The man who was further from Link stepped forward, twirling a baseball bat in his hands. “You, versus us... and both of us with these?” He laughed. “Come now.” 

“What the fu-” Rhett tried to talk again but found that the man with his knee in his back was making it hard to breathe, let alone talk. 

“What do you want?” Link asked, his fists still raised, his eyes darting between the two men. “Let him go!” Link stepped forward but was forced back by the closer man swinging his bat into Link’s side. He stumbled and fell, clutching his ribs, gasping in pain. 

“My droogs and I? We just want to have some fun. There’s nothing ookadeeted to have, after all...” The man who was farther away raised his bat and crashed it into Link’s back, causing Link to cry out, and driving him to the floor. Rhett could barely breathe; he couldn’t even yell for his friend. He felt his vision getting hazy, stars dancing before him, little specks of darkness to tell him he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. 

“Oy, mate, let off him, a malenky? He looks like a tomato.” The man who seemed to be the leader gestured to one of the men, Rhett wasn’t sure which. In a moment he felt oxygen flooding into his lungs, saw his vision returning, as the man on his neck let up a little bit. 

“Link...” Rhett gasped weakly, trying to reach out, trapped. 

“Link, hmm?” The leader of the group raised his bat and swung it down onto Link’s shoulder as Link tried to stand up, causing him to rocket to the ground, giving a painful moan. “You’re a beauteous odin.” He turned to the other man. “Hold him down, would you?” The man got a comically large pair of scissors out of his back pocket; they could have been garden shears. Link tried to get up again only to be slammed to the ground by the secondary man. He struggled, flailing, but not getting anywhere against the large weight bearing down on him. The man took the scissor and began to cut up the pant of Link’s left leg, and stranger, he began to sing. 

“I’m singing in the rain... I’m singing in the rain!” He made a particularly large slice up the pant leg with each verse. “What a wonderful feeling, I’m happy again!” He began to cut up the other pant leg, all the while singing, “Doo-dloo-doo-doo...”

Rhett’s eyes widened. He realized what was happening. He found a new strength inside of him that he didn’t know he possessed. With all his strength, and with a mighty roar, Rhett pushed against the men standing on top of him, throwing the man on his neck away. He swung his fist, half twisted around, at the other man, and it connected with his jawline, sending him swaying. 

Rhett picked up the nearest baseball bat and charged at the man who was undressing Link. He swung it with everything he had, right into his head, sending him reeling. He swung again and again, hitting each man. Everything seemed to move in slow motion to Rhett, every sense was heightened. He didn’t feel with their bats hit him. All that mattered was Link. It was a flurry of bats, a flurry of fists. Rhett stood over Link, his impressive frame made larger by his fury. Blood ran down his face from his nose, dripping onto his shirt. He stood there, heaving, all four men looking at him, holding their faces, their noses, their necks, staring at him in awe. 

“Who else wants some?” Rhett snarled. The four men didn’t need a second hint; they ran for the door, each one scrambling to get out faster than the other. Rhett stayed there, standing over Link 

Rhett walked up the front door and slammed it shut. He threw the bat across the room, away from Link, and ran to look him over. Link was still face down. He was shaking. Rhett knelt down beside him and saw that his right thigh, near the knee, was bleeding; the man’s scissors had slipped when Rhett hit him. He took off his shirt and shook Link gently. “Buddy, you gotta turn over, I have to make a tourniquet.” 

Link didn’t say anything. He simply did as Rhett said, and Rhett began to tear the shirt, wrapping it around Link’s leg. He took the coffee table and broke off one of its legs, tying it into the tourniquet. “You’re bleeding pretty bad.” He put his hand on Link’s shoulder. “Buddy?” 

Link did nothing but stare, unresponsive. 

* * *

**_June 18th._ **

**_Estimation: Five days remain._ **

Rhett drove slowly, gently, doing his best to not wake Link. They both agreed the house wasn’t safe any more. He looked over at him, sweat on his face even though the windows were down, the wind rustling his bangs. A couple of silver hairs shone in the sunlight, a sign of Link’s aging. Rhett turned away, letting him sleep, driving slowly. On his right, the pharmacy approached in his vision. Rhett pulled over, into the parking lot. He looked at Link, who didn’t move. He hadn’t said much since the attack, and Rhett wasn’t sure how to make him smile again. He stared out into the window of the store, knowing what he needed to get, knowing what he needed to do. 

Rhett slowly, silently stepped out of the truck. He shut the door gently and looked up to see if Link was still asleep. He was pleased to see that he was, and walked gingerly towards the building. It was a mess inside, but some supplies remained. Rhett couldn’t help but wonder what a pharmacy was doing out here in the boonies, but he was grateful for it being far away from a center of population at the moment. He slowly opened the door and walked inside.

Disarray was everywhere. Most shelves were empty, most left merchandise was on the floor. Rhett tiptoed over stuffed animals and bottles of Nyquil and made his way to the pharmacy counter. He climbed over it and began to search for a means to his end.

 It was his fault. His cowardice that had almost gotten Link raped. He had opened the door. He had let them in. And, if he was perfectly honest with himself, he wasn’t sure how far the stranger had gotten with Link’s body. He hadn’t seen everything, and he hadn’t asked, out of respect for Link’s privacy. He couldn’t help but feel that, since everything had been exposed when he had been tying the tourniquet... but no, the man’s pants were still on. Still, he didn’t like to think about it. 

The pants Link was wearing now were too loose and they slipped off him continually; Rhett had had the idea to hold them up with a shoe lace, but it didn’t help how baggy they were on his thin frame. 

He fumbled through the drawers of medications, pangs of guilt shooting through his stomach. Or maybe it was hunger. They hadn’t eaten in a day. Rhett looked at a medication label - Lithium - and tossed it aside. It wasn’t what he needed. He needed Ambien. Or something stronger.

If Rhett could save Link from suffering through the meteorite, he could go to his own grave knowing he’d done something right. If Rhett could just find some of the famous sleeping pill - or any sleeping pill, really - he could rescue him from the worst fate imaginable. Burning alive as everything around them crumbled, as the atmosphere turned to dust, as rocks the size of cars rained down from the sky... he could save Link from that. 

The incident had finalized the decision in Rhett’s mind. It had made his options clear. He had to spare Link from his own fate. He had to.

Rhett turned a pill bottle over in his hand and almost whooped with joy. It was Ativan- much stronger than Ambien - and it appeared to be full. Rhett slipped the bottle into his pocket. He then went into the aisles and found some bandages. He took some cotton from another aisle, where a bag was open, and put a ball of it on top of the pills in the bottle, to keep it from rattling. Rhett then turned and began to walk out of the pharmacy. He grabbed a six pack of Ensure on his way out, knowing it would help him do the deed when the time came. 

When Rhett approached the truck, he saw that Link was awake, and had the radio in his lab. He sighed heavily and opened the truck door, climbing in. “Hey buddy. I got us some Ensure. Good for calories.” He gave Link a playful punch on the shoulder before shutting the door. “I couldn’t find any peanut butter.”

“Surprisingly popular item in the wake of the apocalypse,” Link muttered, tuning in between stations, all of which gave off static. 

“Want some Ensure?” Rhett took one of the bottles from the six pack and cracked it open. “It’s not cold, but we should probably eat something.” Link didn’t say anything, shaking his head ‘no’ instead, staring out the window. Rhett nodded solemnly and took a drink from his own bottle. The stuff was thick, and tasted like it had been badly mixed with a powder. He shuddered. “This stuff is not good hot.” He looked out over the desert. “That would’ve been a good episode, huh? Rhett and Link test nutritional drinks.”

“We did that. Sort of.” Link said quietly. “Remember? We tried that soylent and some other things.” 

“Oh yeah.” Rhett took another disgusting sip and swallowed shakily. “Good episode.”

For a few minutes both men stared out of the windshield, into the pharmacy’s dark windows, lit only by the desert sun. They had known each other long enough that they didn’t always have to speak. Best friends in life, and now, Rhett thought to himself, they wouldn’t be best friends in death. Rhett would save Link from that fate.

“Hey Rhett?”

“Hmm?” Rhett turned to Link and saw him looking at him, directly at him, for the first time in two days, and felt his heart break at the pain in Link’s eyes. “What is it?”

“Please don’t leave me again.” 

* * *

**_June 21st._ **

**_Estimation: Two days remain._ **

Rhett poked the campfire and watched as the sun steadily moved downwards in the sky, turning the desert from brown to a beautiful landscape painted with oranges and yellows. They had left the house with their blankets and pillows and ever since had slept next to each other in the truck bed, but Rhett could tell it was going to be a cold night. He plucked up a weed and threw it into the small fire, where it quickly burned away and melted into nothingness. Link sat next to him, humming. His spirits had lifted a little bit once Rhett had gotten him to eat the very last of the peanut butter from the house, but not by much. Rhett couldn’t blame him. They had both been close to something traumatic, and there wasn’t much hope for things to get better. He had lost track of the days. Was it today? Tomorrow? Three days away? He didn’t know anymore. 

“Do you remember that song... about the food and...” Link snapped his fingers, trying to get the thought to come to him. “What was it?”

“I think we had a few about food, right?” Rhett replied, looking up at his friend as the sunset caught his blue eyes. He reflected on how beautiful Link was for a moment, looking right into the intense color.

“It was an early one, back before I cut my hair.” He hummed a tune. “Buh-buh-dudu-buh..buh?” He laughed. “I can’t quite remember it. It’s been so long.” 

“You know I don’t remember most of our songs.” Rhett snickered. “But I think it was ‘Are you gonna eat that’. I think.”

“Yeah!” Link stood up and began to dance, his lanky body moving goofily all around their campsite. “Are you gonna eat that?” He sang, moving his body to a rhythm only he could hear. “Are you - are you gonna - are you gonna- are you gonna eat that!” He stopped dancing and heaved a heavy sigh. “Oh man.” He looked up, into the stars that were beginning to emerge from the sky. “I miss making stuff.”

“Me too, brother.” Rhett stood up and climbed into the open truck bed. “Me too.” He repeated. He felt the bottle of pills in his pocket with his right hand, covering the lump, and looked out at the sunset. 

Link eyed Rhett suspiciously. Then, suddenly, he began to walk away. “I’m gonna take a walk. Gotta pee. Be back in a bit!” 

“Uh... okay!” Rhett stared after Link, biting his lip, bewildered. He watched as Link grew smaller and smaller in his vision, waiting for him to become just a tiny speck. This was his chance to do what he needed to do. 

Rhett opened one of the last two cans of Ensure. He then opened the pill bottle. He easily crushed the small pills in his large hands and sprinkled one after another into the drink, until he had lost count, and even after that. When most of the pills were in the drink, Rhett put the lid back on, as the displacement was beginning to cause it to overflow. He shook the bottle, hard, trying to get the pills to dissolve. All the while he was talking to himself. “Come on. You have to do. You can’t let him go through this. It’ll be quick. It’ll be painless. He won’t feel a thing. He won’t feel a thing.” Rhett muttered to himself, shaking the bottle of ensure, stuffing the pills back into his pocket. 

“He won’t feel a what?”

Rhett gave a start and jumped out of the truck bed, smiling when he heard Link laugh, really laugh for the first time in days. He began to laugh, almost involuntarily, a reaction to the pent up stress of the last few days, and clasped Link on the shoulder. “I think..” He wheezed, another storm of laughter emitting from him, and stopped again, taking a deep, slow breath. “Phew.” He grinned at Link. “One last meal?” 

Link smiled back at him. “Yeah.” 

Rhett handed Link the Ensure with the pills in it. He watched as Link slowly removed the lid, noting how careful he was with it. He watched as Link tenderly moved the liquid to his lips, and his eyes widened as Link took a big swallow. And another. And another. Link set the drink down, empty, and looked at Rhett. His face was serious, and Rhett could have sworn that he saw Link give him a tiny, almost indescribable wink.

Rhett began to drink from his own bottle, but not as quickly. He felt sick. He put the lid back on and set the drink beside him, sitting back down in the truck bed. “Wanna watch the stars?” 

“That sounds like a great idea, brother.” Link climbed into the truck bed with him. Together they laid out two blankets underneath them, the pillows, and settled in under the blankets they had been sleeping in when they were back in the shed. Rhett looked over at Link, resisting the urge to tuck him in like a child, and looked back up at the sky.

For a few minutes the two men looked up at the sky, saying nothing, letting the sky get darker, the night get colder. Link raised the blanket up to his chin. “Hey Rhett?”

“Yeah, Link?” Rhett asked, not taking his eyes off the sky.

“Did you ever hear that Beetlejuice was named after a star?” 

“Was it really?” Rhett laughed. ‘That would be the kind of thing you’d say before the end of the world.”

“No, really, it’s a star on Orion’s belt.” Link wiggled his right arm out of his blanket and pointed upwards towards the constellation. “The middle one, I think.” He put his arm back into his blanket. 

“Huh. Wow.” Rhett looked at the stars, and then over at Link, whose pale face could still be seen in the growing darkness. Link moved over towards him, nestling his head in the crook of Rhett’s neck, and Rhett leaned his head on the top of Link’s raven hair. The two of them stared into the sky for another five minutes or so before Rhett held out his hand, and Link took it and gave it a tight squeeze. The two men stared into the abyss, watching as small meteorites, undoubtedly from the larger one, break of into the atmosphere. 

“Any regrets?” Link asked, his eyes twinkling with starlight. He closed them, realizing they had become heavy.

“Well... no, not really.” Rhett gave Link’s hand another squeeze. “I mean, I’m at the end of the world with my best friend. That’s pretty cool.” 

“Heheh.” Link gave a small, weak laugh. “I am.. really... really sle...sleepy.” Rhett felt Link’s body completely relax into him, his inhibitions gone, his muscles losing feeling, Rhett knew. “I do have one. Remember that girl I dated, Christy?”

“Yeah, what about her?” Rhett asked, getting as close to Link’s hair as possible. He wanted to remember everything about this moment, for as long as he could, for as long as he had. 

“I shou’ve... I should’ve married her.” Link’s speech was slurred. “She was the one.” He began to drool on Rhett’s shoulder, his mouth not totally closing. “I should’ve married that girl.”

Rhett smiled at the memory of Link and Christy together, how happy it had made them both. “Yeah, you should’ve.” He gave a small chuckle. 

There was a moment of silence, and Rhett was afraid Link had fallen asleep. 

“Hey Rhett?” Link’s voice was quiet, weak.

“Yeah Link?” 

“I love you.” 

Rhett immediately felt tears spring into his eyes. He couldn’t stop them from going down his cheeks, the emotion finally pouring out of him. He felt tear after tear roll down the tops of his cheeks and down the sides of his face, wetting his hair and ears. “I love you too, brother.”

“Rhett?” 

“Yeah, Link?”

“I saw what you did.” 

Rhett felt his heart skip a beat. “You saw?”

“Yeah. But.. “ He took a big swallow, growing weaker every minute. “I understand.”

Rhett sniffed, now openly sobbing. He looked down at Link. His eyes were closed, peaceful, his mouth open, his body taken by sleep. “Oh Link.” Rhett wrapped Link in his arms, weeping. “Oh Link I’m so sorry.” He hugged him tightly, no longer able to, or wanting to, stop the tears from coming. “I’m so sorry Link.” He cried out in agony, Link’s limp body in his arms, his tears soaking the front of his best friend’s shirt. “You were my brother, and I couldn’t -” he choked, swallowed, and started again, more quietly. “I couldn’t bare to see you suffer so much.” Rhett kissed the top of Link’s head, gently, gingerly, the tears mixing in with his kiss, making his hair taste salty. “I’m so sorry, Link.” He whispered. “I’m so sorry.

* * *

_**June 22nd** _

_**Estimation: Zero days remain.** _

Rhett was sitting next to a mound of earth, his hand on top. He hadn’t had much to give Link a proper funeral. He had said a prayer and recited the Bible passage about Lazarus from memory, and then since he could think of nowhere else to go, he had sat back down. The sky was growing dark, but now many more small meteorites were breaking through the atmosphere, making it look like a meteor shower. 

“This is it, Link.” Rhett patted the mound of dirt. “This is it.”

There was a great rumbling. Everything around them began to shake as if there were a great earth quake. Rhett watched as a great fire flew across the sky, as if there were a thousand meteorites at once. It was a grand scene, reminding him of a passage in revelations, one about the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, and about the myth of Phaethon who had driven the sun across the sky. It was time. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for impact, ready to die.

Then, nothing.

Rhett opened his eyes and looked up expectantly. He could no longer see the fire. Nothing was on fire on the ground. The mountains in the distance were untouched. Rhett stood up, confused. Why was nothing happening?

“I must not be giving it enough time.” Rhett said, and sat back down. He waited. 

And waited. 

And waited.

Nothing happened. 

Rhett sat there, waiting all night long. He shivered as the night wore on, unable to sleep for cold. What was going on? Was he in hell and he didn’t remember dying? Had it happened and he hadn’t processed it? 

Just as he was beginning to fall asleep, he noticed the sun was rising. Confused, Rhett got up and fiddled in the truck until he found the radio. Rhett flipped the radio on, tuning from station to station. Many cut out quickly, but there were broadcasts, he could tell. He cursed under his breath at their distance from civilization and was about the give up before he finally stumbled upon a broadcast that was working. 

“...miracle! The meteorite has passed right by our planet without striking! Officials are currently unable to estimate damage done by meteor showers, but the human race is saved! I repeat: the human race is saved!”

Rhett’s blood ran cold. He dropped the radio, which continued to broadcast the news. Rhett began to pace around wildly. He slammed his shoe down onto the radio, crushing it with a few stomps, tears running down his cheeks. He looked up at the sky and screamed, dropping to his knees, all strength gone from his body. “Come back!” He stood up and began to walk, then run, in the direction he’d seen the meteorite heading the night before. “Come back! Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me like this!” He threw his arms in the air, screaming, waving, pleading with God. “Take me too!” He yelled, screaming until his throat was sore, running until his legs gave out. Rhett collapsed onto the desert floor, moans of pain escaping him, a pain he could not articulate. 

“Come back...” he half screamed, half whispered, reaching for the sky. “Come back...”

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like screaming.
> 
> Props to you if you catch the reference to A Clockwork Orange.


End file.
